


taste the muzzle of a gun

by yubiniverse



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: 2yoo are a cute couple, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Blood, Blood Drinking, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Mutual Pining, Vampires, jibo are useless gays, minji doesn't want to admit she's in love, teeny tiny mention of homophobia, voice of reason singbin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24909349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yubiniverse/pseuds/yubiniverse
Summary: "I no longer believed in the idea of soulmates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because they were perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together."(title from bibi - kazino)
Relationships: Kim Bora | SuA/Kim Minji | JiU, Lee Yubin | Dami/Kim Yoohyeon (minor)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 63
Collections: Deukae Vampire Ficfest 2k20





	1. 사장님 도박은 재미로 하셔야 합니다

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> scarlet, it seeps in   
> the countless days i had   
> scatters in the soft winds blowing  
> only now, my world grows clearer by itself  
> i wasn’t wrong, it was my choice
> 
> (dreamcatcher - r.o.s.e blue)

_There's nothing worse than waiting and not knowing what'll happen to you. Your own imagination can be crueler than any captor._

“Please,” the man in front of her begged, fear plaguing his wide gaze. It wasn’t as if he was cornered, far from it - the both of them were standing out in a rather large alleyway, large enough for him to easily run past her - but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume he was paralyzed by his fear, too petrified to move. “P-Please, just leave me alone...!”

Perhaps on any other day, she would feel obliged to do so - after all, she didn’t consider herself an unreasonable person. People like him surely had families to go home to. But the sight of his neck, unmarred and ready for the taking, was too inviting... and she was just so

so

_so_

_hungry._

Blood always tasted best when it came from an unsuspecting victim. Granted, it probably wasn’t the best idea to single her target out when she already had crimson smeared across her lips, trickling down to her jaw, but there wasn’t much she could do to stop herself. In a way, though, blood tainted by fear had its own charm to it, oddly enough.

_Everyone is afraid of something. We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don't wish you didn't fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn't feel anything._

There was something beautiful to be found from watching the life drain from a person’s eyes, she thought. It was perhaps why she found the sentiment, that _‘eyes are windows to the soul’_ to be so true. And even if they weren’t, there was still at least a kernel of truth to the statement. According to her, life could not be measured by actions, or general appearance, or lifestyle. No, the best indicator of life was through someone’s eyes (not to mention, her own crimson hued irises were plenty indicative of her noticeable lack of life, she would reckon) - and nothing was more satisfying than watching it wither away with every passing moment, every draw of blood leeching away his lifeforce, to make up for the glaring lack of her own.

“You’re alone, now,” She mused out loud after pulling away, letting his lifeless body drop to the cement. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

_Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym._

She knelt down to his stiffening corpse, opening her mouth to make another smart remark, only to pause, picking up the sound of a struggle further down the alleyway. She let out a sigh, begrudgingly getting back onto her feet and approaching the noise, leaving behind her most recent victim.

“Come on, baby, let me take you home!” A male voice crooned, grating on her ears. “You’ll be safe with me.”

_Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual._

The voice was unfamiliar to her, but the scene was not. A tall, fairly well-built man cornering a tiny woman - really, such a pretty little thing - with the putrid smell of alcohol on both of their breaths. Truly, she would never understand humans’ fascination with the intoxicating beverage...she found it rather revolting.

And yet, despite the association of the drink with celebrations, she could smell the discomfort on the woman. She could detect the fear emanating from her, much like she did from her victim’s last fleeting moments, and it put a horrid taste in her mouth. That woman probably did not know up from down, and it became clear to her that the man knew this all too well. Although she didn’t specifically know _what_ he was planning, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that it was with malicious intent.

_There are many who don't wish to sleep for fear of nightmares. Sadly, there are many who don't wish to wake for the same fear. When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard, nor welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid - so it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive._

It was over quickly, she mused to herself. A little _too_ quickly, if she was being honest - for she realized for the first time in an eternity that she was not just driven by her hunger to sink her teeth into the conniving stranger - no, she was also driven by anger. An anger, she realized, she had not felt before. Perhaps she was too eager to leech his life away from him, but... she supposed actions had to speak louder than words. 

Indeed, she was far from full, by the time that she let his lifeless body fall to the ground, but there was something so inherently _wrong_ that twisted in her gut when she entertained the idea of feeding from the woman as well. She feared ruining the effortless beauty that was this porcelain doll of a human. Truly, she was a complete mess, but that did nothing to distract from her God-given features; fair, unblemished skin that looked so fragile it might break, if she were to hold her the wrong way. Wavy, thick locks of dark hair, and deep brown irises that seemed to hold a billion galaxies captive.

“I can’t leave you like this,” She frowned, biting her lip. Swiping her tongue over the ensanguined surface, she savored the last traces of her previous meals. Knitting her brow together, she made a split second decision and lifted the stranger into her arms. “Let’s get you out of here, hm?”

_All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood._

* * *

“Uhh....can you please repeat that? Like, _all_ of it?”

Bora groaned out loud, laying her head on the lunch table. “I just told you, Yoohyeon! And, _no_ , asking me multiple times is not going to make me miraculously remember more information!”

“No offense, unnie, but it _is_ rather...unbelievable,” Yubin chimed in between bites of her sandwich, giving the older student a pointed look. “Are you sure you aren’t misremembering things because you were drunk?”

“I don’t know what to tell you... I was practically blackout drunk,” Bora grumbled, before giving Yoohyeon a withering look. “Which, might I remind you, would have never even happened in the first place if you hadn’t _ditched_ me!” Yoohyeon visibly deflated at the remark, prompting Bora to continue. “ _Anyways_. I told you all I could remember. Some guy was trying to take me home, and this hot lady showed up and knocked him out. I don’t remember anything else.”

“Hmm...” Yubin frowned, knitting her eyebrows together in uncertainty. “Any distinguishing features you remember? Anything at all that stood out about her?”

_A complete stranger has the capacity to alter the life of another irrevocably. This domino effect has the capacity to change the course of an entire world. That is what life is; a chain reaction of individuals colliding with others and influencing their lives without realizing it. A decision that seems miniscule to you, may be monumental to the fate of the world._

“Well...” The shorter student trailed off, unable to help her slight pout. “It was kinda dark, but...she had bright red hair,” she finally acquiesced. “Oh! She had something red smeared all over her mouth, too... did she smudge her lipstick or something?” Bora mumbled out loud to herself, missing the exchanged look between Yubin and Yoohyeon.

“As riveting as this conversation has been, Yubs and I gotta go to class,” Yoohyeon declared, abruptly standing from her seat and slinging her backpack over one shoulder. “We’ll see you at the apartment, okay? Good luck with your knight in smudged lipstick!”

Bora waved the duo goodbye, softly sighing to herself. “As if I’m ever gonna see her again,” she scoffed gently under her breath, shaking her head. “I wish I could just fall in love normally like those two... but instead, I’m here crushing on a total stranger I’ve only met once.” She afforded one last glance at her food, before disposing of the half eaten plate of tteokbokki with a huff.

“No point in staying here, I suppose,” the small woman reasoned out loud, grabbing her bag and heading for the exit of the student center. “The least I could do is get in some more practice before class, right...?”

_Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot go to: the one we love. So instead we seek out allies, even among strangers and wives, fellow patients who, if they can't touch the edge of our particular sorrow, have felt something that cuts nearly as deep._

* * *

“I’m home!” Bora called out into the apartment, as if opening the door didn’t do a good enough job of announcing her presence to the other two occupants of the living space. “Did you miss me?”

_(Well, four, if you count Pie and Ddoddo. Yoohyeon would crucify Bora if she didn’t involve them in her housing census.)_

“Not in the slightest,” Yubin deadpanned from the living room in a flat voice. Bora resisted the urge to smack the younger woman, instead choosing to drop herself onto the sofa with a heavy sigh. She craned her head, noticing Yoohyeon’s little pomeranian struggling to hop onto the furniture. Deciding to oblige the puppy, she sat up and lifted Pie into her arms. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted Yubin typing away on her laptop.

“Rough day?” The younger student snorted out loud, briefly taking her eyes off the computer screen.

_Across generations, wariness of new individuals, groups, and ideas was built into the circuits of the human brain's alarm response because those who had this wariness were more likely to survive to reproduce. It was just safer to assume danger- and expect the worst- than to count on the kindness of strangers._

“Something like that,” Bora muttered, gently scratching behind the puppy’s ears. “We had a transfer student join the class today... it doesn’t make sense, I guess. She’s fine as a dancer, but... why in the middle of the semester?”

Yubin hummed, before a knowing smile curled on her countenance. A rare sight, considering Yoohyeon was the more expressive of the couple. “She, huh?”

“Excuse you, I don’t fall in love with _every_ girl I meet,” Bora grumbled, glancing away when Yubin gave her a pointed look. “I’m not _that_ much of a useless lesbian! But, fine, she’s attractive. So what?”

Yubin didn’t respond verbally, opting to raise her eyebrows in an expression of doubt. Bora rolled her eyes, returning her attention to Pie, who whined when she momentarily stopped giving the puppy affection. She gave a few more scratches to the pomeranian’s head, before letting her wander away, as dogs often tended to do. “Okay. _Maybe_ I have a crush on her. But I’m pretty sure half of our dance class does,” she acquiesced reluctantly. “I don’t know what her name is yet... but maybe I can invite her over to lunch so I won’t be third-wheeling you lovebirds. If you’re okay with that, I guess?”

“I don’t mind,” Yubin answered simply with a shrug, going back to working on her laptop moments later. “That all depends on Yoohyeon’s ability to not scare her off, though, I suppose.”

_It doesn't matter if you never see someone again, I told myself. There are millions of people in the world, and most of them never see each other in the first place. You hoped to know her forever, but there's no such thing as forever, really. Everything is much shorter than that._

Bora hummed noncommittally, taking her attention from the other woman, and let her gaze wander about the room. For three working college students, Bora wouldn’t be the first to admit their apartment wasn’t too shabby. It wasn’t high-end, by any means, but far from the worst option for them. It had a nice and homey feel, something that all of them could appreciate. She wouldn’t lie - it broke her heart to think about her future after graduation two years from now, when Yubin and Yoohyeon would no longer be constant in her daily life, so Bora elected to cherish every moment with the duo to the best of her abilities until then.

“I’ll invite her for lunch, then,” Bora stated out loud, begrudgingly getting to her feet. “Considering the kitchen is still standing, I’ll assume neither of you have eaten...so I’ll fix some dinner before I head out for work.”

“That would be good,” Yubin replied, continuing to type away on her computer. Bora shook her head as she opened the fridge, rifling through its contents for ingredients. “Thanks, unnie.”

Bora smiled, despite herself.

_You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family._

* * *

“So,” she began, leaning back in her bar chair. “She asked me out to lunch.”

“Please tell me you’re joking, Minji,” Siyeon groaned, resting her face in her hands. “This is the last thing we need for the coven. You wouldn’t be in this mess if you had just killed her in the first place,” the black haired woman grumbled, sighing and taking a long sip from her beer. “What’s so special about her, anyway? She’s just a normal human.”

“She doesn’t even know what I am,” the redhead scoffed in response, shaking her head. “I doubt she even remembers what happened, she was drunk out of her mind. Would anyone even believe her if she went on harping about a _vampire_ saving her?”

_Use your blood to paint. Keep painting until you faint. Keep painting until you die. Tell them that you weren't hungry, tell them you followed the pomegranates seeds because they tasted like blood, like love._

Siyeon didn’t say anything in response for a while, choosing to silently nurse her drink. After several moments passed between them, she decided to finally speak up again. “What did you say?”

“I said yes,” Minji answered with a shrug, spinning around in her chair like a bored child. “She’s pretty and probably means well, so I don’t see why not.” She took a sip of her water, curling her lip slightly at the smell of Siyeon’s beer. “I don’t think she even recognizes me.”

“I hope you’re right,” the younger vampire muttered with a grim experience. “You know what you’ll have to do if it goes south, unnie.”

“Yes,” Minji sighed, shaking her head. “I know...”

“I know, Siyeon-ah.”

_Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there anymore._

* * *

Bora, Minji learned, was nothing short of peculiar.

Nothing bad, certainly not - despite the human’s apparent noisiness and bombastic laughter, the redhead found her company extremely enjoyable, and the caring personality underneath those flawless features made her infinitely likeable.

_(Either that, or Minji’s loneliness and utter lack of human interactions for Gods knew how long was becoming glaringly obvious, but she’d rather not think about that.)_

She could not deny, however, that there was an odd charm to Bora. Something about the human was an enigma in every which way. No matter how she picked apart the shorter woman, there were undeniably codes that Minji just couldn’t crack. It left her pondering why, indeed, she had saved Bora in the first place, that night, many weeks ago.

Was it curiosity? Or was it something beyond the surface level, something her unbeating heart knew, and her mind did not?

_Nobody has ever taken a photograph of something they want to forget. We can build a wall of happy Kodak moments around ourselves, a wall of our Christmases, birthdays, baby showers and weddings, but we can never forget that celluloid film is see-through, that behind it, all the misery of real life waits for our wall to collapse someday._

Their lunch...outing went surprisingly well. Bora’s other friends had suspiciously “dipped” within ten minutes of Minji showing up, not that the redhead really cared. That allowed her to get to know Bora better...and find out just how much Bora remembered from their incidental meeting at the beginning of the month.

She, at one point or another, considered telling Bora the truth about what really happened - that she was the redhead that had taken her home, that she was more than who she said she was... but she decided against it in the end.

_(What possessed her to even think about spilling such information to Bora in a public environment perhaps was an even bigger enigma to her, but she didn’t care to acknowledge why the thought even crossed her mind.)_

She felt some semblance of sorrow when it came time for them to part ways, something the vampire was stunned by. Even weirder yet, the thought of seeing Bora again in dance class put an odd feeling of warmth blossoming in her chest. Her heart did not beat, but Minji thought, if anyone could somehow make it beat again, it would be Bora.

She definitely did not want to think about why those thoughts made her dizzy in the head, specifically because she knew the reason for them...

Minji didn’t want to acknowledge what she already knew to be true.

“What’s that human saying?” Minji mused to herself. “Ignorance is bliss?”

_Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?_

* * *

Bora wasn’t exactly sure why, but she somehow had a knack for getting herself into decidedly bad situations.

_Am I a bad luck magnet?_ She pondered to herself dryly.

“Now that your dyke friends aren’t here,” the tallest boy of the three cornering her in the hallway sneered out loud, leaning forward, “how about that date, baby?” He shared a glance with the other two students on either side of him. Bora felt her skin crawl, feeling the trio’s gaze on her, and it didn’t take a genius to guess they were undressing her with their eyes.

“I don’t even know your name,” Bora responded in a clipped tone, hoping to end the conversation right there and make a successful escape, which was quickly foiled by the other boys covering either of her possible exits. “Please leave me alone.”

She hoped someone would notice the uncomfortable situation and step in, but every bystander either walked by and avoided looking in her direction, or watched the event like a spectator with a disdained gaze. Her heart dropped in response, shrinking against the wall as the ringleader stepped closer.

_Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward. Cowards make the best torturers. Cowards understand fear and they can use it._

“Excuse me, but I don’t appreciate you flirting with my _girlfriend_ ,” a voice asserted out of nowhere, causing Bora to jolt up in surprise. She caught a flash of familiar red hair, hope flourishing in her chest. “It would be _wonderful_ if you could leave her alone... You’re making her very uncomfortable.”

“Nice try,” the tallest of the three scoffed, though Bora could see his brave act was quickly faltering. “There’s no way you two are girlfriends. You’re too pretty to be _dykes!_ ”

Minji let her petrifying glare wash over the three boys, before she effortlessly shoved past them and towards Bora. Without skipping a beat, the redhead took hold of Bora’s jaw, bringing her in for a bruising kiss. The younger of the two only hesitated for a moment out of sheer surprise, before matching the redhead’s intensity, loving the way Minji’s lips felt against hers.

_(Out of the corner of her eye, Bora could see the disgust and shock blossom across the boy’s face, surely thinking that should be him instead, and it sent an immense wave of satisfaction washing over her.)_

“I won’t... I won’t forget this!” He sputtered, flustered by the display and ultimately turning tail to scurry away. His lackeys were quick to follow, but Minji paid no attention to him, taking a deep breath after pulling away from their lengthy kiss. The redhead’s lips were slightly swollen from the contact, but in Bora’s opinion, that only made her even more effortlessly beautiful.

_Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up._

“I apologize for doing that without your permission,” Minji apologized with an earnest expression, sheepishly scratching the back of her own neck. “You looked really uncomfortable there, and no one was doing anything, so...”

“I, ah... I actually liked it,” Bora cut her off hurriedly, face flushed pink in slight embarrassment. “T-the kiss, I mean! I...liked it a lot, actually...that’s not...weird, is it..?” She fiddled with her hands, averting her gaze in fear of what she might see on Minji’s face - the last thing she wanted was the redhead to think of her differently.

Minji simply smiled, shaking her head. “I didn’t expect to kiss you before taking you on a proper date, but it’s not weird... I promise,” she responded in an attempt to placate the obviously nervous student before her. “That is, if you _want_ to go on a date... if we’re supposed to be girlfriends,” she added on with a little touch of cheekiness to her tone.

“Wait, what?” Bora blinked, floored by Minji’s rather...bold statement. “You would really...with me...? Why?”

“Well, why not?” The redhead shrugged. “Is it so hard to believe that I want to get to know you? Doesn’t hurt that you’re cute and attractive, but that’s not the only reason I would date you.”

“I-I just... You could do way better than me,” Bora stuttered, face turning redder and redder by the moment. “You’re so beautiful, and skilled, and talented, and smart, and I’m just.... _me_.”

Minji frowned, ultimately catching Bora off-guard. “You’re plenty that and more, Bora. I could spend hours telling you why... but I think we should do it over dinner instead. How does that sound?”

“I...” Bora hesitated, knitting her eyebrows together, before her expression relaxed into a gentle smile.

_There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment._

“I would love that, Minji.”


	2. 작사가

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an angel and a demon are on my fingertips  
> making me write lyrics, whether i’m smiling or crying  
> even when the paper gets all wet i can’t stop  
> sometimes, i exaggerate my sadness when i write
> 
> (heize - lyricist)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, sorry for the delay in writing this! sleep deprivation has been kicking my ass lately, and my motivation has been severely lacking ;n; but that will hopefully change soon enough! this chapter is far from my best, but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
> 
> \- luo
> 
> (p.s.: come yell at me on twitter! @/yubiniverse)

“Minji, what the hell are you _thinking?!_ ”

In hindsight, Minji should have been expecting this. The disbelief and incredulity in Siyeon’s tone was unsurprising, in the least. Siyeon may have had her own fair share of...reckless behavior, but no one outclassed the younger vampire when it came to worrying about the coven’s safety.

_I am a fool with a heart but no brains, and you are a fool with brains but no heart; and we’re both unhappy, and we both suffer._

“What, I’m not allowed to date at uni?” She responded dryly in a deadpan tone, taking a long sip of her drink, not bothering to look in Siyeon’s direction. “Aren’t you the one that said I needed to let loose a bit more?”

“Not when it endangers our lives!” Siyeon shot back in a sharp tone, turning to face the older vampire. “You can’t just go around...fooling with a...a _human!_ ” The black haired woman’s expression was one of obvious indignance, something that Minji didn’t need to look in Siyeon’s direction to know.

“I’m not a _child_ , Siyeon,” Minji growled lowly, finally turning her head to give the younger woman a withering stare. “You should not concern yourself with my personal life. My….meddling with a _human_ is hardly a threat to our livelihood. So why are you really so concerned about her?”

“I…” Siyeon trailed off, averting her gaze awkwardly with gritted teeth. “You’re playing with fire, unnie. And you know what happens-”

_Love, like fire, goes out without fuel. Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves._  
  
“Yes, I’m well aware,” the older vampire cut her off with a derisive snort. “I’ll get burned, whatever.” She waved at Siyeon with her hand, dismissing her concern. “I will be fine. Please worry about yourself,” she muttered, nursing her drink as she leaned back in her chair. “Speaking of personal life, have you stopped being a coward and asked out you-know-who?”

Siyeon’s face flushed deep red, telling Minji everything she needed to know. “T-that’s none of your business!”

“So it isn’t,” she smirked with a knowing look. “Don’t ask about my human and I won’t ask about your poor crush, then.”

_Love needs room to grow. Like a rose. Or a tumor._

* * *

“Fuck,” Bora cursed under her breath, leaning against the dance mirror with a sigh. “This isn’t working.”

_The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people._

Bora spared a glance around the practice room. Much to her relief, the other students seemed plenty too occupied with their own rehearsal to notice her blunder with the choreography. Not that she cared if anyone did - Bora didn’t concern herself over drama that should have been left behind in high school, this was university for crying out loud - but there was no denying that it made her feel a little better.

Subconsciously, she found herself searching the room for someone. However, as she let her intense gaze sweep over her classmates, it became increasingly clear to the dancer that Minji was not present. Bora felt her motivation slowly erode away, oddly discouraged by the absence of the taller redhead, before she promptly shook her head to rid herself of the negative thoughts.

_The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope._

“No amount of moping will make her walk through the door,” she muttered to herself in reminder, briefly closing her eyes to focus. “Minji or no Minji… I’ll flunk this stupid test if I can’t concentrate.” She took a long sip from her water bottle, promptly setting it beside the mirror with a sigh as she tried to psych herself up again. Silently, she counted to eight in her head and began again.

By the time Bora was satisfied with her efforts to practice, she took notice that the studio was more or less empty. At this point, it was hardly a surprise for Bora to find herself practically alone with how much time she typically spent practicing, but she still couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed by the fact.

_Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play._

“Ah...noona,” an unfamiliar voice called from behind, briefly startling her. She turned around, met with a much taller male. She vaguely recognized him from some of her classes, enough to call him an acquaintance, but she didn’t claim to know much else besides his name.

“Minhwan-ssi,” She greeted, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgment. “How may I help you?”

_I cannot emphasize it too strongly that our gifts-whether they consist in wealth, or in the ability to sing, to paint, to build, or to count-are not given unto us to be used for our pleasure merely, or as means of our advancement, whether social or intellectual. But they are given unto us that we may use them for helping those who need help._

“I don’t mean to bother you,” he began with a slightly awkward look, scratching his neck in a sheepish manner. “But the evaluation is coming up soon and I… I’m still having trouble with the choreography,” he admitted with a sigh. “You seem to have a good handle on it, so I was wondering… if you’d help me out with it sometime this week?”

Bora blinked in surprise, caught off-guard by his request. “I… I’m pretty busy with work, but...I’m sure we could work something about,” she commented, tilting her head to the side. “I should be free on…” Bora paused, mentally rifling through her schedule for any possible openings. “...Wednesday afternoon, if you don’t mind?”

“That works fine for me,” he nodded, expression almost immediately brightening in response. “Thank you very much! I will see you then.” He bowed, almost at ninety degrees, to Bora’s slight amusement, before hastily taking his leave from the practice room.

For a while, Bora simply stood there, staring at the door. “I’m not quite sure why he felt the need to ask me,” she muttered to herself out loud, brows knitted together in confusion. “Couldn’t he ask the actual dance professor for help?”

_If we are merely a chance product of ‘random happenstance’ and nothing more, doesn’t it strike you as a bit odd that we have the ability to contemplate the question of ‘random happenstance’ with such methodical complexity?_

Dismissing it with a shake of her head, she knelt down to pick up her water bottle, walking to the bag of her belongings on the floor. Briefly checking over her phone, she saw a plethora of missed messages, but she decided to ignore them in favor of heading to the bathroom to change.

“I can just check them later,” she mumbled with a shrug, slinging the duffel bag over her shoulder, flicking off the lights as she left the studio. “If it’s important, they’ll call.”

_There’s a drive in a lost soul—in one that is searching for acceptance, companionship, belonging, whatever you want to call it. The slightest coincidence ignites a spark that one hopes will lead to something meaningful._

* * *

“You know, Minji-ah… I keep seeing your pet hanging around with someone else, these days.”

“I don’t own her,” the redhead muttered in response, crossing her arms as she spun around in her chair idly. “So what? She’s allowed to have friends.”

_A lion does not flinch at laughter coming from a hyena. A gorilla does not budge from a banana thrown at it by a monkey. A nightingale does not stop singing its beautiful song at the intrusion of an annoying woodpecker._

The younger woman simply chuckled, pouring her friend another drink. “Ah, but something tells me you’re bothered by it nonetheless,” she commented with a pointed look. “I do not believe it is one of her friends... not the two lovebirds, anyhow. An acquaintance… or a boyfriend, perhaps?”

Minji’s eyes flashed dangerously at the proposal, almost immediately standing up. “Bora does _not_ have a boyfriend! I… I _know_ she doesn’t,” she grunted, lowering her voice only moments after her apparent outburst.

_I refused to believe that love could take any other form than mine: I measured love by the extent of my jealousy, and by that standard of course she could not love me at all._

“Hm…” The younger vampire hummed, leveling the glass before offering it to Minji. “But you two are not officially dating, no?” She inquired, raising a brow. “You have not been around lately, correct? From what I’ve seen, they seem rather... _close._ ”

Minji’s eye twitched in irritation. “Don’t dance around the topic, Handong. What did you see?”

The younger woman simply shrugged, an irritatingly enigmatic smile crossing her catlike features. “I don’t kiss and tell, unnie,” she murmured, leaning forward. A ring of gold shimmered in her otherwise crimson irises, causing Minji to tense. “But I will tell you this.”

“Keep an eye on your pet, Minji-ah. You wouldn’t want your prized merchandise... _damaged_ , would you?”

_It's good to see the snakes revealing themselves. They weren't actually hidden at all. People hide behind the masks, but eventually you see them for who they truly are._

“She’s not-” Minji snapped, leaning forward to snatch Handong’s collar in her fist, but the younger vampire vanished in a plume of smoke before the opportunity could even present itself. “...my pet,” the redhead grumbled, sinking back down into her seat with a heavy sigh of defeat. “Stop being so fucking... _cryptic!_ ” Minji growled out, slamming her fist on the counter.

If Minji noticed the bar’s other patrons giving her odd looks for her display of frustration, she chose not to acknowledge it.

“Stupid Handong,” Minji grumbled, taking a long sip from her glass of water.

_Our lives really do seem strange and mysterious when you look back on them. Filled with unbelievably bizarre coincidences and unpredictable, zigzagging developments. While they are unfolding, it’s hard to see anything weird about them, no matter how closely you pay attention to your surroundings. In the midst of the everyday, these things may strike you as simply ordinary things, a matter of course. They might not be logical, but time has to pass before you can see if something is logical._

Peculiarly, she found herself wishing it were alcohol.

* * *

“It’s just like tutoring, unnie,” Yoohyeon reminded her in an exasperated voice. “I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of all of this…”

“I just…” Bora groaned, rubbing her temples as she lazed on the couch. “I don’t know. It’s _weird_.” She regretted oversimplifying her thoughts in that moment, practically hearing the gears turning in the younger student’s head.

_You must travel through those woods again and again, said a shadow at the window... and you must be lucky to avoid the wolf every time. But the wolf... the wolf only needs enough luck to find you once._

Yoohyeon, as expected, fixed her with an incredibly skeptical look. “What’s weird about it, exactly?”

“It…” Bora huffed, begrudgingly sitting up, running a hand through her dark locks of hair. “I don’t know, okay? I’m not... _taken_ , or anything, but it...it feels like I’m cheating.” She mumbled, averting her gaze to the ground.

“It’s a tutoring session, Bora. Not a date,” Yoohyeon snorted in response, annoyingly dismissive of Bora’s worries. “Besides, don’t you make it clear with everybody that you’re as straight as a circle?” The blonde crossed her arms, giving her roommate a pointed look. “Don’t make it weird and it won’t be weird!”

_You had a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, like when you're swimming and you want to put your feet down on something solid, but the water's deeper than you think and there's nothing there._

“Easy for you to say,” Bora grumbled under her breath, reluctantly standing up to go get ready. “I don’t wanna make Minji angry or anything…”

“ _Bora!_ ” Yoohyeon groaned, annoyance bordering on her tone. “You literally said it yourself. You are a single pringle and unless Minji wants to march inside here to declare you her girlfriend, she has no say in what you do or who you meet. Besides, this is for school. Even if you _were_ a heterolingo, it's not like Minji seems that concerned with showing up very often, anyways. When's the last time you even saw her?”

_Whenever we give up, leave behind, and forget too much, there is always the danger that the things we have neglected will return with added force._

Bora sighed, and though she desired badly to reply snarkily to Yoohyeon’s words, she knew the younger girl was only stating the obvious. Being that it was, in fact, not a date, Bora decided to dress comfortably and apply a minimal amount of makeup. If she were meeting Minji, that would be a different story, but… she didn’t allow herself to dwell on why that was the case. Shaking her head, she examined herself in the bathroom mirror, not wanting to look too unprofessional.

“Just a tutoring session… not a date,” she muttered to herself, in an attempt to psych herself up enough to leave the apartment with some semblance of confidence. “Minhwan-ssi just asked for help with the choreography. That’s all.”

_Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common people, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions._

In her efforts to calm her nerves, Bora had inadvertently left her phone behind, face down on the couch. Mere minutes after making her departure, the device buzzed with a single message.

One notification turned into three, and then many, only to be left unattended and unread.

At first, Yoohyeon ignored it, the incessant noise gradually getting on her nerves. When she heard Bora’s telltale ringtone, however, her curiosity won out against her respect for privacy. Almost as if hypnotized, the younger student walked over to the couch, picking up the phone.

_Souls and memories can do strange things during trance. All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways._

Staring at the caller id, she almost didn’t seem to be in control of her own body, as her finger slowly dragged across the screen to accept the call.

_[13:24] Incoming call:_

_Kim Minji_


End file.
